Does this blimp make my ass look fat?

Today, the Caperello family got the chance to share something totally unique – a ride on an airship. A blimp. It was freakin’ awesome.

The event, a birthday celebration for cancer survivors explained in my last post, was put on by the American Cancer Society (the official sponsor of birthdays) and Horizon Blue Cross & Blue Shield. My mom who works for ACS got an email from the event coordinator that some media would be present and wanted to interview my dad. The Ewing Observer is a local, monthly paper – the most recent edition came out yesterday, so it’ll be a while before we can read their account of today's happenings.

I said,"They want to interview you! That’s pretty cool, huh Pops?" His response was nonchalant.

“I’ll answer any questions they have," he said, "but I want them to know that every American deserves healthcare.”

Yes. My pop’s initial reaction was to use the publicity as a pulpit for the healthcare crisis. We wore matching red t-shirts that read, The healthcare crisis is a cancer crisis on one side and Make health insurance adequate, affordable, available, administratively simple on the other side.

I’m not entirely sure where Horizon stands on healthcare reform, but the reps there at Solebury Airfield couldn’t have been nicer. We won't see the article for some time to know if dad got his message out, but at a certain moment, it was all about the blimp, baby.

And that moment was right about here:


That's dad in the red.
Captain Terry (seen below) dropped some knowledge on me n moms while they had dad in the air with the reporter from the Ewing Observer.


Fun facts:

• There are 22 airships in the world, 3 are owned by Goodyear

• There is $50,000 worth of helium in that thar blimp

• This blimp has 2 pilots and a crew of 11 (Terry had the morning shift, so his partner or “line pilot” I believe he was called, is at the helm with my pops)

• Blimps don’t do snow or ice. After Sept 13 it’s going to its’ home in North Carolina. At 25 mph it takes about 12 hours to get where they have to go. I wouldn’t mind going for that ride if it was during the day and I had an appropriate amount of beer or scotch.

• On a scale of 1-10, ten being perfect – Terry rated today’s weather of 82-degrees and clear blue skies as an 11.

After a ten-minute ride they circled back to drop off the reporter (Diccon Hyatt is actually the community editor, but I digress) and pick up mom and myself.

I took an embarrassing amount of photos – the whole album will be up on Facebook shortly, but here are some of my favorites:


Pre-flight interview.


Maybe you can tell, maybe you can't - but the level of excitement is off the charts!


Momma & me: excited and nervous.


That's a propeller spinning around. It sounded like a mega-souped-up lawn mower.


The pilot steers the rudders with wheels on each side of his seat which makes him look a little like Joe from Family Guy. He doesn't look like he's going anywhere, but in fact, he is.


Two of my favorites: Round Valley Resevoir and Spruce Run in the distance.


The center gauge on the top row says we're at 1300 feet - the pilot says it's the perfect altitude for sight-seeing.


Airfield wildflowers.


Coming in for a landing!


Terra firma.

The wind was a little disconcerting. You could feel the airship being pushed by strong gusts. I've been parasailing before, but it's an entirely different effect. The feeling of lightly propelled floating at that altitude is unmatched.

Here is the bio of my dad that he and I wrote at ACS’ request:


Frank is 62 and has spent over 40 years working as an IT professional – and is very excited about this blimp ride! He loves the idea of simply being able to float above the Earth and look down. In a hot air balloon, he says, you’re at the mercy of the wind and might not be able to see something you’d like to, but in a blimp you have directionality in where you float. Airplanes move too fast at low levels to see anything and at higher altitudes, you can’t see anything because it’s too far away. He just thinks it would be a really neat thing to experience.

Frank has been fighting stage four metastatic pancreatic cancer since fall of 2007. It has been a tough journey thus far, but with total support from his family and friends, he refuses to give in and is hunkered down for the long haul. He’s also impressed by the spirit of those he has encountered at his various doctor’s offices and even his local pharmacy; finding that healthcare professionals and the people working with them have been extremely caring and loving individuals.

Frank is proud that the American Cancer Society the sponsor of his next birthday, October 8.


Yeah, my pops wasn’t just excited – he was thrilled. It felt so good to see that smile on his face.


That's our shadow, man. Far out.

By popular demand (I've always wanted to say that), you can click here to see the entire photo album.